New Program Aims To Stop Underage Drinking

(KCPW News) A survey of Salt Lake City schools reveals that 25 percent of sixth graders say they have tried alcohol. That startling fact has prompted Salt Lake City and County to work together on a campaign to fight underage drinking in Utah.
Beginning next week, fifty city and county garbage trucks will carry huge signs warning parents about the dangers of underage drinking. Art Brown, President of the Utah Chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, says alcohol use at an early age severely affects brain development. He says parents should begin telling their kids about the dangers of alcohol as early as the fourth grade.

Parents Empowered, a campaign funded by the Utah Legislature and run by the Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, is paying for the signs, which debut Monday.